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Thousands participate in Shopian girl’s funeral

Publish Date: 13-02-18 7:55 AM

SHOPIAN:Thousands of people Sunday morning participated in the funeral prayers of Saima Jan who was injured in army firing at Audoo village of shopian in January and succumbed to injuries at SKIMS Soura on last evening after battling with life for around 18 days.

Saima was buried next to the grave of her slain militant brother, Sameer Ahmad wani, who was one among the two local militants killed in a brief encounter at Audoo village on January 24. Her classmates, cousins and friends, who had travelled from different neighbouring villages, were dismal.

A large number of girls and women were seen participating in her funeral procession who raised anti-Indian and pro-freedom slogans. Some girls, who were participating in the procession, were seen fainting.Two rounds of funeral prayers were held for slain Saima in which around 4 thousand people from different villages of Shopian and Pulwama including Chaigund, Dairyoo, Rajpora, Shadimarg, Yedepora, Gabarpora, Wathoo, Tengwani, Qalampora, Ganowpora, Nadipora, Balapora, Keegam, Nikas, Bellov and Drabgama participated.“She was my classmate and we used to call her Sabreena at home,” one of her cousins said, adding that she was very brilliant student of arts stream. “She had recently passed 12th class examination from higher secondary school Keegam and secured 368 marks out of 500,” the cousin said. Saima was elder than Sameer by some months and they were batch-mates up to 12th class. Sameer had dropped out from 12th class to join militant ranks before he was killed with another local militant, Firdous Ahmad of neighbouring Ganowpora village.Saima is survived by a younger brother, Sayar Amad Wani and an elder sister, Masrat Hilal, both of whom are students. Another cousin informed that Saima, who had received a bullet injury on head, was operated twice at SKIMS Soura.“She was in coma for about 16 days and two days ago she was shifted from ICU (intensive care unit) to general ward,” he said, adding that two days back she opened her eyes and showed some movement in one hand.He further said that doctors had informed them that if Saima recovers her left side would remain paralyzed.Recalling the fateful day, villagers in Audoo said that Army opened targeted fire on Saima, who was standing near her house with five other cousin sisters.“She received a bullet on head,” a cousin, Asif Ahmad, said. He further said that army didn’t allow them to take her to hospital for around 30 minutes during which she bled profusely.“We took injured Saima to a neighbouring village and from there a vehicle was arranged,” he said. Saima was taken to district hospital Pulwama where from she was shifted to SKIMS.Another girl, Sumiya, daughter of Ghulam Hassan Bhat, was also injured in army firing in Audoo and a boy, Shakir Ahmad Mir, of neighbouring Qalampora village died on spot after receiving a fire from army.Two students, Suhail Javid of Ganowpora and Javid Ahmad Bhat of Balapora died in army firing on civilians in Ganowpora village on January 27 and another youth, Rayees Ahmad Ganie of Nadipora village who was critically injured, succumbed at SKIMS Soura on January 31.Another boy, Musharraf Yusuf Najar, 10, of Daramdora village, who was injured on 24 January after fiddling with an explosive substance, he had brought home from site of encounter at Audoo, too succumbed at SKIMS on February 1. Meanwhile, mobile internet was snapped in twin districts of Shopian and Pulwama